Publisher: Tordotcom
Date of Publication: November 1st, 2022
Page Count: 400
From the Jacket:
Magic! Murder! Shipboard romance! The second entry in Freya Marske’s beloved The Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light
The most interesting things in Maud Blyth’s life have happened to her brother Robin, but she’s ready to join any cause, especially if it involves magical secrets that may threaten the whole of the British Isles. Bound for New York on the R.M.S. Lyric, she’s ready for an adventure.
What she actually finds is a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and a beautiful stranger in Violet Debenham, who is everything—a magician, an actress, a scandal—Maud has been trained to fear and has learned to desire. Surrounded by the open sea and a ship full of loathsome, aristocratic suspects, they must solve a murder and untangle a conspiracy that began generations before them.
Rating: 
Steam: 🔥🔥
A sequel that totally lived up to the first book, A Restless Truth was phenomenal! I had such high expectations because A Marvellous Light is an all time favorite of mine. And while I was sad that I only got to see my dear Robin and Edwin once at the very end of the book, these new characters completely captured my heart. I could not get enough of Maud and Violet, and even the grumpy Hawthorn (I so hope book 3 will be his).
A Restless Truth begins right after the events of A Marvellous Light end. The book opens with a murder and the theft of a magical artifact (and I won’t get too specific here in case you haven’t read book one) and the rest of the story is a sapphic murder mystery on a ship! We get to explore some new magic, there’s a foul mouthed parrot who keeps everyone on their toes, a whole lot of educational pornography, and an absolutely perfect love story. Freya Marske writes such moving and creative (you may recall the magical *literally* butt stuff from the first book) love scenes. They never feel formulaic, but rather varied and perfectly crafted for the characters she’s writing them for. For Maud, this is an education and exploration of sex and what it can mean, and for Violet, it’s her first real go at a real relationship and making herself truly vulnerable. Marske has written some of the most romantic lines I’ve ever read and I have more than I can count underlined in this book.
I absolutely loved how much self discovery happened for Maud, Robin’s little sister. She is so brave in the light of so many unknowns and absolutely committed to her mission to help out her brother and Edwin. And I don’t even know where to begin with how much I fell for Hawthorn’s character. He is the surliest, most unhelpful man at the beginning of the book, and by the end he is all in to help with Maud’s mission. The rag tag team that develops between Maud, Violet, Hawthorn, and a few others felt like a family by the end and I cannot wait to see where that goes with the next book.
I cannot recommend this series enough. A Restless Truth is out now and my eternal gratitude to tordotcom for sending me this beautiful copy to read and review!
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